Poor Vicente Padilla

Pitcher Vicente Padilla has had a rough couple of months.

Back in July, Padilla was diagnosed with the H1N1 flu.

Yesterday, Padilla accidentally shot himself in the leg while hunting in his native Nicaragua.

In between all this, Padilla was released by the Texas Rangers due to his unpopularity in the clubhouse. However, the 32-year old righthander was picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers and he pitched well for them. He went 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA down the stretch en route to a NL West Divisional Championship.

Padilla then pitched seven shutout innings in Game 3 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals earning the win that would advance the Dodgers to the NLCS against the Phillies. He also pitched well in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Phillies. Although he was not credited with the win it was the only game the Dodgers would win against the Phillies. Alas, he could not repeat those performances in Game 5 of the NLCS where he gave up six runs in three innings and was tagged with the loss in the deciding game that ultimately sent the Phillies to the World Series.

A string of bad luck tends to come in threes. Padilla is undoubtedly treading very lightly.

UPDATE: As it turns out, Padilla didn't shoot himself in the leg. Rather he was practicing target shooting and his instructor accidentally shot him when Padilla handed him the gun. This can't amuse Joe Torre much. Perhaps Padilla should have been a more artful Dodger.